SHOW REVIEW: Jockstrap @ The Fonda
Jockstrap
Call this a cop-out, but my best attempt at qualifying the creative conundrum of Jockstrap's most recent affairs at The Fonda Theater can be most aptly described via timestamp:
8:15pm: My beloved friend and fellow KXSC-diehard DJ Huggies carpooléd us downtown, simultaneously saving the planet and enabling us to score $10 parking, a true Los Angeles bargain. I, in an act of bravery, attended the show (and am currently writing this review) with a bellyache.
9:00pm: DJ Huggies and I arrived with enough time to secure ourselves a ginger beer at the bar and balk at the sparse merchandise options before self-proclaimed "Ravepunk" founder and Jockstrap-opener Ian STARR took the stage. Important to note that this was STARR's first performance on a stage (seemingly ever? Though that may be the bellyache talking).
"Ravepunk," for those unfamiliar, can be best described by STARR's outfit: anime hoodie, knit balaclava, and a fuzzy pink fursuit helmet.
In a deeply unsurprising admission, STARR shared "I'm from south Florida!" We know, Ian, we know.
Note: Now may be an apt time to describe the average Jockstrapian (a term I have coined myself that I will be taking royalties on). Fans of the British duo revere frontwoman Georgia Ellery's haunting vocals (those of which may ring a bell for Black Country, New Road fans) and producer Taylor Skye's bass-boosted production; together, the two draw the likes of every indie kid this side of the Mississippi. When I say that us radio sheeples flocked to The Fonda en masse, I'm not kidding; little did I know that myself and DJ Huggies would be joined by a dozen other KXSC DJs and friends of the station. Commenting on the seeming omnipresence of KXSC faces in the crowd, DJ Microplastics noted:
“It was like a panopticon in there.”
10:00pm: With the dust still settling from their opening act, Ellery and Skye quite literally emerged from the fog to the sound of "Tension" from Miss Padam Padam herself, Kylie Minogue. Yes, a significant tonal shift from Ian STARR's off-the-wall set, and yet, something about it made sense—it was just disjointed enough without feeling trite or like the duo was pandering to the audience. There are no real gimmicks beyond Ellery's look – a cross between 70's Stevie Nicks, Florence Welch, and Weyes Blood – and Skye's precariously-placed beanie, only reaffirming that they really are from across the pond. I caution any Jockstrap attendee, especially those accustomed to larger-than-life productions (even in the smallest of venues), against believing that without fancy lighting and flashy stage design the show can't possibly entertain an at-capacity Fonda. Truthfully, Ellery's ethereal vocals layered on top of, against, and within Skye's gritty and booming electronica are spectacle enough. If anything, I was taken by their level of self-awareness; their music can be described as an "acquired taste," and 'acquisitionees,' i.e., Jockstrapians, feel equally enthralled by a stunning, angelic vocal display on "Concrete Over Water" as they do with its immediate transition into Nicki Minaj's famed "Monster" verse (which actually happened!).
11:00pm: In my post-show clarity, I can honestly say that I've had few experiences quite like that, and, for what it's worth, I saw Trisha Paytas' former beau and David Dobrik (remember him?) punchline Jason Nash after the show…oddly enough, slightly redeeming him in my eyes. Do with this information what you will. Better yet, take it from other Jockstrap-goers:
DJ Danny Darko: "…Whiplash."
DJ lagoslovebomb: “The smell made me wonder…who brought out their jockstrap at Jockstrap?"
DJ Gemini: "The concert was everything, but nothing so much as it was a religious experience; it was church, there was communion, transubstantiation through the sweat and glitter and bass flowing through and from every orifice. To be honest it would probably be better captured in emojis or a smattering of glitter across the page."
– DJ T AKA Tahlia Vayser